By Wole Olujobi
His vision was clear. The mission, unmistakable. His spirit was effervescent with unwavering commitment and undiluted chemistry. And the willpower packed a mental energy to attain lofty dreams!
That was Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji in 2021 when he declared to contest for the governorship seat of Ekiti State. Ekiti people had faith in him after demonstrating justice, love and generosity of the heart among the people. On election day, Ekiti people reciprocated him with their votes.
In his inauguration speech tagged “Let Us Keep Ekiti Working” on October 16, 2022, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji had said: “My mission for Ekiti State is to be a land of prosperity, opportunity, peace and progress. A land in which transformed people and communities can reap the fruits of their labour in dignity, good health and safety. A land of honour where integrity matters. For this vision to be actualised, we need to focus on a roadmap to get there.”
With a fervent devotion, this roadmap is what he espoused in his six-point agenda, which he leveraged to transform Ekiti State in the last four years.
Drawing on the principle of a French West Indian political philosopher, Frantz Fanon, in his thesis that “each generation must discover its mission, fulfil or betray it,” Oyebanji in his inauguration ceremony speech latched on to Fanon’s philosophical ambience of the former, explaining in details that he understood his vision and assuring that he would fulfil it. His words: “The import of the mandate you have given to me and the responsibility I now bear is clear.”
In the last four years, the governor proved himself right and Ekiti people bore him witness.
Yet, besides grace speaking for him, Oyebanji brought to bear the intrinsic, personal leadership qualities that assisted him in power.
Just like the way he was brought up, he held discipline as a guiding compass, and embraced his Christian faith as an armour for the leadership arduous responsibilities in a homogeneous state with diverse political cleavages often couched in combustible, fierce partisanship that, in the past, accompanied bloody electoral contests.
But drawing on the corpus of philosophical studies of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period, to achieve his goal, Oyebanji, an urbane man of peace, espouses communal ethos, personal and governmental morality, discipline, harmonious social relationships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity and responsibility to lead by virtue.
He also held fast to the veneration of the elders and pious defences by the Holy Cross of his faith, which the governor regularly expresses in his favourite Yoruba hymnal theme rendition: “Igbagbo mi duro l’ori, Eje at’ododo Jesu; Nko je gbekele ohun kan, Lehin oruko nla Jesu; Mo duro le Krist’Apata, Ile miran, iyanrin ni….” (My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”)
Deploying his moral appeal to build unity and amity among Ekiti people, Oyebanji also believes in Ekiti traditional values and considers himself a transmitter for these values of earlier periods, some of which have been abandoned in his time.
His creed, just like that of Confucius, is: “Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself.”
What he wanted done to himself as would be done to others was encapsulated in a Six-Pillar Strategic Development Roadmap
to drive Ekiti development; including Human Capital Development, which focuses on qualitative and free basic education up to Senior Secondary School 3 (SS3) and healthcare improvement;
Agriculture and Rural Development that aims at food security, empowering local farmers, and boosting rural economy; and Infrastructure and Industrialisation, which incorporates upgrading of roads, power supply, and public utilities;
Arts, Culture, and Tourism, which leverages cultural heritage sites at Ikogosi Warm Spring, Arinta Waterfalls, Fajuyi Memorial Park and Abanijorin Mountain and Cave, among others, for economic growth.
As we write, reports indicate that Ekiti State has earned a major international recognition, as the Developing-8 (D-8) Organisation for Economic Cooperation comprising Nigeria, Türkiye, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran and Azerbaijan is set to hold its Fifth Ministerial Meeting and Sixth Senior Officials’ Meeting at the Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort from October 28 to 30, 2026.
The international meet will further showcase Ekiti State’s economic potential to the international business community for the much-needed business and economic cooperation for international investments.
Others include Good Governance that emphasises and promotes inclusive participation through community-based budget preparations, and accountability; and, lastly, Industrialization and Job Creation, which focuses on creating economic opportunities and supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Four years after, Oyebanji, besides political exigencies, brought his personality to bear in government and recorded remarkable achievements to boot in all these sectors.
In Infrastructure and Power, for instance, Oyebanji, besides bringing Ekiti International Cargo Airport into its present functional state, also completed over 350 kilometers of roads across all 16 local government areas, including building two solar-lit ring roads that link Ikere-Ekiti to Ado-Ekiti and Ijan-Ekiti to the state capital that cut travel time, in addition to a 1.2 kilometres flyover named the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Flyover to reduce heavy traffic in the city centre, improve road safety, and support local business activities in the state capital’s busy commercial hub.
In power supply, for the first time in Ekiti history, the state’s power supply increased from 25 megawatts to 130 megawatts through private partnerships. Many communities that were in darkness for years were reconnected to the national grid to boost the state’s economy and social life, including strengthening the state’s security architecture that was recently revved up by the provision of over 100 operation vehicles to the security agencies to protect lives and properties.
In the healthcare sector is a premier Ulerawa Health Insurance to provide free care for pregnant women, children, sickle cell patients, and other vulnerable groups.
Neonatal deaths were cut by 57 percent and under-five mortality by 54 percent.
Upgrades of medical facilities and construction of new ones were commonplace, including upgrade of Ikole Specialist Hospital to a Federal Medical Centre and a partnership with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to host the Southwest Zonal Health Laboratory, among other health schemes upgrades. Others are provisions of medical facilities across the state to take care of the health needs of Ekiti people.
The milestone in agricultural production is heartwarming, so much so that recent report entitled “2025 Wet Season Agricultural Performance in Nigeria,” produced by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) and certified by the National Technical Committee on Agricultural Statistics under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security placed Ekiti State in the top rank in agriculture.
Specifically, the report says Ekiti State recorded increases in the production of rice, maize, cowpea, tomato and okra, among others, and the state is among the states with largest cultivated areas for major crops; the development that has reflected in the crashing of food prices in the markets.
In Education and Human Capital was AGILE Project, which drew investment of over ₦14 billion via the World Bank-supported Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment to improve digital access and infrastructure in all 203 public secondary schools. Scholarship scheme was expanded to accommodate more brilliant and indigent students.
Over 2000 youth artisans benefited from Supa Artisan Programme in partnership with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in addition to the Vocational Training and Apprenticeships for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) that targeted training in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), tailoring/fashion design, hairdressing, shoemaking, catering, and business management. This is in addition to BAO Digital Academy / Digital Skill Academy in partnership with global tech heavyweights, such as Meta and Tech4Dev, that equips hundreds of youths per cycle with specialized training in cybersecurity, UI/UX design, web development, data science, and digital marketing.
Other components of the scheme include Agribusiness Skills Programmes that provide specialized training to 1,000 youths annually, while over 500 youth entrepreneurs were engaged in broiler production.
In governance ranking, Ekiti State was propelled to a top position in the Governance Performance Index and fiscal responsibility rankings through prudent management and transparency. Oyebanji also approved the recruitment of young people into the civil service, local governments, teaching service and Hospital Management Board, including primary health centres to take young and qualified people from the labour market while also prioritising local contractors for the first time in Ekiti State in government businesses.
The trophies that have headlined Oyebanji’s uniquely inclusive and people-centric administration that drew widespread institutional recognitions included: Leadership Newspaper’s Governor of the Year (2025); Vanguard Newspaper’s Personality of the Year for Good Governance (2024/2025) Leadership Newspaper’s Outstanding Governor of the Year for Inclusive Leadership; Marketing Edge Magazine’s Grassroots Development (2024); Silverbird’s Man of the Year (2024); Energy Times Magazine’s Energy Governor of the Year for power infrastructure upgrades, reconnecting communities to the national grid, and deploying independent power plants; Daily Independent’s Governor of the Year (2023) for laying a stable administrative and fiscal foundation; and New Telegraph’s Governor of the Year for Infrastructure (2025).
By far the most remarkable landmark is the unification of the diverse political class by his rare gift for the pursuit of peace in the hitherto fierce and toxic political landscape. This generous spirit for communal peace, which led to a united front among the hitherto combustible political class, set the pace for other Oyebanji’s landmark accomplishments in the last four years. All these coalesced to produce the historic and historical first back-to-back election victory by the ruling party, actively supported by the opposition parties, to succeed itself, as Oyebanji, a lover of justice and peace, for the first time in Ekiti history, rewrote Ekiti political history in his own image.
It was for these reasons that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hailed Oyebanji’s transformative leadership, including his sterling performance, pledging stronger federal backing for Ekiti’s development.
So far, Ekiti State has seen that Federal presence, which Oyebanji acknowledges and praises everywhere, pledging to ensure massive votes for Tinubu in his second term election, even as Ekiti State has become a beacon of hope and a model for good governance in Nigeria owing largely to Oyebanji’s transformative and impactful leadership backed by the President’s support.
In the last four years, Oyebanji has proven that achieving success despite challenges requires a resilient mindset, adaptable strategies, and a focus on continuous learning rather than the obstacles themselves.
The next four years is an opportunity to improve on the current momentum to achieve the vision espoused by Oyebanji in his development mission in Ekiti State.
Indeed, Oyebanji not only stood on his Ekiti mandate for support to achieve success; he also relied on the protection and guidance of God as a primary source of commitment in his initiatives to grow Ekiti State, to thrive in shared prosperity among Ekiti people.
Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has proven himself as a lighthouse and inspiration for progress in the dialectic of Ekiti history. The first term is the celebration of legacy leadership and promises fulfilled. The next dispensation that begins in the next few hours is for the consolidation of the energy that lights the path for more prosperity for Ekiti people.
*Olujobi, a journalist, served as Deputy Director in the Media and Communications Directorate of BAO Campaign Organisation
